Keeping Pace With Sony's PlayStation 4 May Turn on Its Success

Videogame fans waited years for a new generation of living-room consoles. Now that the hardware has arrived, Microsoft Corp.'s hopes of keeping pace with the competition may turn on a piece of software.

The title is "Titanfall," a combat game for the Xbox One console that goes on sale Tuesday. Microsoft has been promoting the game since last June, hoping to inject new ideas into a familiar genre while providing a strong...